The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1887-09-16
Merry GEORGE SLOAN
A Man Who Went to Texas and Stood
His Ground.
From the New York San.

in Texas he was known only as Merry
George" l have seen a great many state
ments concerning his adventures in print,
but all more or less exaggerated. Some of
| the adventures which came about while we
were in company l will now give to the
press for the first time. Sloan was an Ohio
boy, and | made his acquaintance and we
chummed in the Andersonville prison
pen. We went West together after the
war, and at that time he was only q
years old. He was feet inches high,
weighed 100 pounds, and was the strongest
man l ever saw outside of a professional
wrestler or cannon ball tosser. His flesh
was so hard that he could crack walnut
on his leg. On two or three occasions
knew him to break the bones in mans
hand by single grip. He took no training
of any sort, but the strength and rugged
ness were born to him As if not satisfied
in making him young Hercules, nature
| gave him the most wonderful nerve and
courage. He once told me that he would
give 800 to realize for five minutes what
| fear was | saw him in some of the hot
test places man could get into, and l never
saw him falter or hesitate or make a mis-
take in doing just the right thing.
A TOUGH sCRAPE IN DALLAS.
One afternoon, after we had finished up
some business in Dallas and were ready to
go, we entered saloon for a parting nip
1t was full of gamblers, cowboys and rough
characters generally, and every man wore a
revolver in plain sight. We were slipping
our drink when burly big ruttisn, who
was fighter from way back, Intentionally
fell against Sloan with considerable force,
and then stood off and leered at him. and
| then said:
I'm waiting for you to ak my parding
| fur that, bantyn
Sloan never carried weapon of any sort
while in town. He looked the big fellow
| over in cool and quiet way, and finally
asked
"Did you intend to insult me, sire"
Insult yer echoed, the other. "Who
| talks of insults? Why, we little game cock
from somebody's barnyard, I'll give We two
minutes to git down on your knees to me.
IF you do not beg my pardon before |
finish this glass" replied George, II will
make wreck of you"
By this time everybody in the saloon had
crowded around us, and it was easy to see
we had no friends there. There was some
| thing in Sloan's eye and tone which eau
toned the big fellow, and if left to himself
| he would have retired from the scrape. But
he was egged on and braced up by the
crowd, who ached to see a row, and he
stepped back little, drew his revolver, and
| growled:
INOW, Dainty, R6U uOWn on your mar
row-bones, or you'll take dose of lead"
Sloan leaned ON the bar with his elbow
and slipped his wine slowly. paying no fur
Their attention to any one He was perhaps
minute and half finishing his glass, and
during the last half minute he was covered
by the mans revolver. When he set the
glass down he wiped off his mouth, returned
the handkerchief, and then turned ana ad-
vanced upon the ruffian. The man fired
nIynf at aff. l,ol- %
hair, and the bullet killed the bartender
Before he could fire again George seized
him, one hand on his throat and the other
on his knee, lifted him high in the air and
held him thus for ten seconds Then he
| gave the body fling upon some whisky
barrels ten feet away. 1t was an astonish
feat of strength, and the silence of death
fell upon the room. When it was broken it
was by man who had tiptoed over to the
barrels to look at the ruffian, and who
hoarsely whispered:
"Great heavens! Tom is as dead as q
fishm
So he was. The iron fingers had choked
the life out of him as he was held aloft, and
when he struck the barrel, almost every
bone in his body was broken. George stood
there for two or three minutes looking from
one to the other, and then said:
Does any body else want me to go down
on my knees ~
Never man replied; never hand was
lifted, as we went slowly out and mounted
our horses and road away uppolested.
ONE OF THE NERvIEsT THINGS
in Sloan's career happened at Navasota, on
the Brazos river. We were sitting on the
veranda of the hotel when fighter entered
the village on horseback. Armed with a
Winchester and two revolvers he took a
drink OF two and then started in to capture
the town. There was only one street and
he rode up and down this at full gallop,
| firing right and left and uttering terrific
| yells. In five minutes he had the town.
everybody was thoroughly cowed.
The fellow fired two shots among
the sitters on the veranda, and
we stampeded. i own up that had no de-
sire for a closer acquaintance with the
ruffina, and | was among. the first to seek
cover When we were all inside l peered
| cautiously from window and saw Sloan
still outside He was on his feet, leaning
against a column of the veranda, and
smoking cigar as coolly as you please.
shouted for him to come in. but he shook
his head. Appeals were made by others,
but he turned deaf ear. The cowboy had
by this time reached the lower end of the
street. and turned 10 come back. He came
at gallop, but checked his horse in front
| VI tuS uOOtl anu AIcl Juitt SINUS db 1,
from a distance of fifty feet. The first zip
ped past his ear, the other two cut cloth
without drawing blood. We were looking
full at the shooter from the windows, and
| as he fired his third shot without bringing
| his man, a look of wonder came to his face,
and he shouted:
| who are you, man or devilP'
| George sauntered along to the steps,
slowly descended and approached the man,
and as he came near enough he grabbed for
him. Next instant the cowboy was pulled
off his horse and being literally mopped all
over the road. He tried to use a weapon,
but was disarmed with scarcely an effort,
and when George got through with him he
lay as one dead. Rifle, revolvers and knife
were broken and flung in a heap besides,
and George sat down on the steps to finish
his smoke. He had kept his cigar alight
! through the fracas. / personally inter-
viewed the doctor who was called 70 see the
cowboy, and he gave me the list of injuries,
as follows:
Left arm broken, thumb ON right hand
broken, three scalp wounds, right shoulder
probably dislocated, three teeth knocked
out, five bad bruises on various parts, one
eye closed.
The fight did not last three minutes, and
yet the little giant laid the fellow up for
three months, and taught him lesson he
never forgot. | saw and talked with him a
year later and he told me that he was not
entirely well from the drubbing.